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Dishonest salesmen escape jail

Two dishonest salesmen, who made a false report to the police of being robbed after splitting the day’s sales of $41,421 between themselves, escaped jail on Wednesday. Instead, Chad Matura, 33, and Vishnu Ramdial, who began crying after learning they could face up to ten years in jail were ordered to pay fines and compensation totalling $23,422. Both men, employees of a goods transport company, pleaded guilty to charges of stealing the money and wasteful employment of the police. The charges were laid by PC Neil Nanan, who was awarded $500 by San Fernando Magistrate Rae Roopchan for excellent work. Police prosecutor Cleyon Seedan said the workers received the money after delivering Nestle products to China Supermarket, San Fernando, last Friday.

However, they then went to the Mon Repos Police Station and reported that they had been robbed of the cash. The sum of $40,000 was recovered from the homes of the two salesmen. Saying it was a serious act of dishonesty, the magistrate said the maximum penalty for the offence was ten years. Rejecting the suggestion of a bond, the magistrate said employers had started to use electronic devices, like Linx and credit card machines, for fear of being the victims of bandits. The magistrate fined each of them $10,000 or 18 months in jail on the larceny charge and $1,000 or three months in jail on the other charge. They were also ordered to pay $711 each in compensation. Mathura and Ramdial were each ordered to pay $5,711 forthwith and allowed 28 days to pay the rest of the money.